Garmin Colorado Roller - Rocker Issues

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Anyone else having problems? On my 2 day old 400t the roller part just does not want to work smoothly. It is kind of herky jerky and sometimes just hangs up. One finger will not do it at all on a consistant basis. Sometimes it starts OK and then hangs. Other times it just will not move without putting a couple of fingers on it.

Unfortunately I don't think firmware revisions are going to help it at all. I guess a phone call to Garmin is in order.

Edited January 23, 2008 by Gob-ler

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The Rockin-Roller wheel does feel a tad chinsy and plasticy and yes, I have noticed it feeling rough from time to time. However, to be fair, it works and its starting to feel more comfortable to me. I wonder though how well this rotary switch will work after two or more years of use? One year?

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To fix this is a simple affair. Just pop the top off the wheel, apply a slight amount of grease and snap the top on again. As new.

A few units had this problem, as far as I know.

WOW, A $600 unit and it needs a lube job already, sounds crazy to me . I think Garmin should have kept this puppy awhile longer and got all the bugs out of it. I think it will be awhile till I'll be buying mine .

Barefoot One & Wench

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Kind of silly, but make sure your thumb is just on the wheel and not on the side of the case too. When I was trying out the unit at REI the wheel seemed awful stiff and hard to turn, after a while I realized that the wheel is flush with the side of the case and my thumb was 1/2 on the wheel and 1/2 on the case, once I realized that it worked much better.

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Apersson in right! The wheel pops off rather easily with a knife blade inserted into the seam. The internal construction has bolstered my view of this switch a little bit. It has a nice seal inside so nothing can get into the electronics. The switch segments (what you feel as a "click") is plastic on plastic, which is why it felt plasticy to me. But the switching part appears to be sturdy. If it ever breaks, pops off or wears out it will only be the cap, which should be an easy and cheap replacement. In other words, the friction is between the cap and the GPS housing and not the actual switch contacts. Good design really! Go ahead and pop the cap off and check it out! Believe me, my heart was pounding too but it comes off rather easily with a little help from a knife.

I would watch what kind of grease you put in there. You don't want to add anything that would eat the plastic, rubber seal, or housing. I would think that a silicone grease (like the spare tubes that come with some water filters) would be a good choice. Not too much though, just enough to thinly coat the plastic.

I can send pictures of the internals of the switch if anyones interested.

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As I was playing with mine this weekend I was wondering how left handed people will like the roller. As a righty it works great for me, one of the main reasons I would buy a Colorado, but as a lefty doesn't the antenna get in your way?

GO$Rs

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Apersson in right! The wheel pops off rather easily with a knife blade inserted into the seam. The internal construction has bolstered my view of this switch a little bit. It has a nice seal inside so nothing can get into the electronics. The switch segments (what you feel as a "click") is plastic on plastic, which is why it felt plasticy to me. But the switching part appears to be sturdy. If it ever breaks, pops off or wears out it will only be the cap, which should be an easy and cheap replacement. In other words, the friction is between the cap and the GPS housing and not the actual switch contacts. Good design really! Go ahead and pop the cap off and check it out! Believe me, my heart was pounding too but it comes off rather easily with a little help from a knife.

I would watch what kind of grease you put in there. You don't want to add anything that would eat the plastic, rubber seal, or housing. I would think that a silicone grease (like the spare tubes that come with some water filters) would be a good choice. Not too much though, just enough to thinly coat the plastic.

I can send pictures of the internals of the switch if anyones interested.

Let's see those pics, please.

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As I was playing with mine this weekend I was wondering how left handed people will like the roller. As a righty it works great for me, one of the main reasons I would buy a Colorado, but as a lefty doesn't the antenna get in your way?

GO$Rs

I never thought of that (being a righty as well). I tried it using my left hand and it seems fine. The antenna seems recessed back enough so that it isn't in the way for me to hold the unit comfortably and use the roller.

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So how do you guys like the wheel really? Is it a pain to go through the extra motions to find say "mark waypoint", "page" , "menue" etc etc which is a button on the 60 series. The wheel kind of reminds me of the rino series with the click toggle switch thing which i found horrible to use. I have real reservations of the rocker/roller switch but may be unfounded.

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As I was playing with mine this weekend I was wondering how left handed people will like the roller. As a righty it works great for me, one of the main reasons I would buy a Colorado, but as a lefty doesn't the antenna get in your way?

GO$Rs

While I'm not a lefty, I use my left hand to run my Colorado without any problems. The antenna is a help, IMHO. I've tried using it several time with my right hand but like other have observed, it tend to be cumbersome and jerky at times. Using it left handed allows me to maintain a consistant "angle" on a Roller wheel. One side of my thumb lightly touches the antenna while the pad of my thumb is on the wheel itself.

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I have seen several posts of this nature on this forum. I have an idea!

Delete Post???

What's wrong with that? Demerits?

After reviewing my own post here, I see no option for deleting a post. Unbelievable! (No. I'm not talking about the Colorado now.) I can't believe that these forums don't have a feature to delete a post if the author feels fit.

I have another idea: It's how you get the fuzzy boxes to appear on video when you're being filmed. Let me try that!

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That struck me too, about relying so heavily on a moving part. but it seems the moving part is only external, so all should be fine with that. I guess the next step is to see if you can poke and prod the thing into working with the wheel removed?

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Apersson in right! The wheel pops off rather easily with a knife blade inserted into the seam. The internal construction has bolstered my view of this switch a little bit. It has a nice seal inside so nothing can get into the electronics. The switch segments (what you feel as a "click") is plastic on plastic, which is why it felt plasticy to me. But the switching part appears to be sturdy. If it ever breaks, pops off or wears out it will only be the cap, which should be an easy and cheap replacement. In other words, the friction is between the cap and the GPS housing and not the actual switch contacts. Good design really! Go ahead and pop the cap off and check it out! Believe me, my heart was pounding too but it comes off rather easily with a little help from a knife.

I would watch what kind of grease you put in there. You don't want to add anything that would eat the plastic, rubber seal, or housing. I would think that a silicone grease (like the spare tubes that come with some water filters) would be a good choice. Not too much though, just enough to thinly coat the plastic.

I can send pictures of the internals of the switch if anyones interested.

You don't even need to use a knife, as a matter of fact, I wouldn't, due to possibly cutting the unit or wheel. Simply clasp it with your fingernails and pull it off. It's easily done and you don't risk damaging the unit.

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Apersson in right! The wheel pops off rather easily with a knife blade inserted into the seam. The internal construction has bolstered my view of this switch a little bit. It has a nice seal inside so nothing can get into the electronics. The switch segments (what you feel as a "click") is plastic on plastic, which is why it felt plasticy to me. But the switching part appears to be sturdy. If it ever breaks, pops off or wears out it will only be the cap, which should be an easy and cheap replacement. In other words, the friction is between the cap and the GPS housing and not the actual switch contacts. Good design really! Go ahead and pop the cap off and check it out! Believe me, my heart was pounding too but it comes off rather easily with a little help from a knife.

I would watch what kind of grease you put in there. You don't want to add anything that would eat the plastic, rubber seal, or housing. I would think that a silicone grease (like the spare tubes that come with some water filters) would be a good choice. Not too much though, just enough to thinly coat the plastic.

I can send pictures of the internals of the switch if anyones interested.

I have the same things. I phone to garmin after sales service : they says they return my unit back in " weeks.

Whats about waterproof?

If you send me pictures it will be very nice

alan mail kervanoel@gmail.com

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As I was playing with mine this weekend I was wondering how left handed people will like the roller. As a righty it works great for me, one of the main reasons I would buy a Colorado, but as a lefty doesn't the antenna get in your way?

GO$Rs

Turns out I'm ambidextrous when it comes to GPSr's. I'm right handed but I preferred more often then not to use the Colorado in my left hand. I could reach and operate everything well except the on/off button to the right of the antenna. Come to think of it I really couldn't grip and use it as comfortably with my right hand. For the power button I always held it in my left hand and pushed the power with my right forefinger. Other left-hander / right-hander mileage may vary.

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Looks to me like magnets in the popped off part perform the 'switch' action. Similar to a rechargeable toothbrush I imagine?

I believe they use what are called "Hall Effect" sensors. Wikipedia Link

We use them in aerospace to determine positions of rotating mechanisms.

The Cooker

I think Hall Effect is only used for the rotational element of the R-n-R and the joystick functions are switches located under the blue teflon seal.

I also wouldn't use anything else but silicone and would clean all areas first and wipe off all excess lubricant which would still leave a thin enough film to make a marked difference in using the rotation function. Lubrication of any kind could pick up dust and could increas wear on bearing surfaces or risk leakage on O-rings. Wipe areas clean after lubing and see if you don't still get a good effect.